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Former batsman awarded for services to cricket and community
Langer included in Queen's birthday honours list
Cricinfo staff
June 9, 2008
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An Australian hero: the 'corny' Justin Langer will receive his country's third-highest civilian honour
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Justin Langer, the former Australian batsman, has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, the country's third-highest civilian honour whose recipients include Keith Miller, Glenn McGrath, Mark Waugh and Dean Jones.
Langer, who retired from Test cricket after the 2006-07 Ashes, has been honoured "for service to cricket as a player and mentor and to the community, particularly through fund-raising and support for a wide range of charities, including children's leukaemia and cancer research organisations."
Reacting to the news that his name figured in the Queen's birthday honours list, Langer said: "It's a great honour. I've lived such a privileged lifestyle and I've literally lived my dream playing cricket for the last 20 years."
Langer reflected on his cricketing life. "The opportunities that have come about because of what I've achieved in cricket have been quite mind-blowing. People I've met, places I've been - it's been extraordinary. It sounds a bit corny but I write in my journal every night and I start up every night with 'I'm the luckiest person in the world'. I respect how lucky I've been and how privileged I am."
Langer, 37, played 105 Tests and scored 7696 runs at 45.27, and with Matthew Hayden, formed one of the most successful opening pairs. He was also the top run-getter in 2004, when he amassed 1481 runs.
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